The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. However, these advances have increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC processing and manufacturing are needed.
Increasing precision in device manufacturing is required because of the constantly increasing density of semiconductor devices in integrated circuit manufacturing. The ability to control the gate length in field effect transistors (EFTS) is of importance. Without the ability to shorten gate length, an increase in density and circuit performance could not be accomplished. Also, because of the reduced gate lengths, there is a need for an improved process that reduces the junction capacitance between the source/drain extension lateral overlap and the gate.